A ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ Super-Fan Tracked Every Song Played On The Series
Most of us are a super-fan of something, but Mike Hernandez’s super fandom is going viral and rightfully so.
Hernandez created a spreadsheet that tracks every single song used in the classic sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which lasted four seasons from 1978-1982.
“It’s been my favorite TV show since it was still on the air,” said Hernandez via email. “And one thing I liked about it was how it incorporated contemporary songs, which no other show did. So I’d been curious for years what songs the show featured and decided to try and make a list of them myself.”
So, how long does it take compile such a list? Two years! And he did it on his own!
“I started the list using edited/syndicated versions of the show, which had some of the music replaced, then Shout! Factory announced that they were releasing the complete series on DVD with most of the music intact,” wrote Hernandez. “So when that came out I was able to come up with a mostly complete list of all the music used.”
The spreadsheet wasn’t enough for Hernandez, though. He also created a number of charts that showed how being featured on WKRP affected a song’s performance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Honestly, this type of work deserves an award. At the very least, Hernandez deserves a free turkey.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger who once did a presentation in a college public speaking course about why The Rolling Stones were better than The Beatles. (She received an A.)
